Method for identifying an object in a region surrounding a motor vehicle, driver assistance system and motor vehicle

ABSTRACT

A method for identifying an object in a surrounding region of a motor vehicle as a stationary object is disclosed. The surrounding region is captured in images using a vehicle-side capture device and the object is detected in the captured images using an image processing device. A first position of the object in the surrounding region relative to the motor vehicle is estimated on the basis of a first captured image, a movement sequence of the object in image coordinates is determined on the basis of the first image and a second captured image, a first movement sequence that characterizes a first, stationary object in the image coordinates is determined proceeding from the first estimated position in the surrounding region, and the captured object is identified as a stationary object on the basis of a comparison of the movement sequence of the captured object to the first characterizing movement sequence.

The invention relates to a method for identifying an object in a regionsurrounding a motor vehicle as a stationary object, wherein in themethod, the surrounding region is captured in images using avehicle-side capture device and the object is detected in at least oneof the captured images using an image processing device. The inventionadditionally relates to a driver assistance system and to a motorvehicle.

It is already known from the prior art to mount capture devices, such ascameras, on motor vehicles to thereby capture a region surrounding themotor vehicle in images. Information can be extracted from said images,for example by recognizing objects in the images using an imageprocessing device. DE 10 2008 063 328 A1, for example, proposes todetermine a change in a pitch angle of a motor vehicle on the basis ofcaptured objects.

Said information can be provided to a driver assistance system of themotor vehicle, for example an automated full-beam regulation system. Theinformation extracted from the images can be used, for example, toregulate the full beam emitted by the motor vehicle so that, on the onehand, the region surrounding the motor vehicle, in particular a road ofthe motor vehicle, is illuminated as well as possible, and, on theother, so that other road users, such as oncoming vehicles, are notdazzled. To this end, the captured objects in the region surrounding themotor vehicle initially need to be classified or identified so thatoncoming vehicles, for example, are recognized as such in the firstplace.

It is the object of the present invention to be able to reliably andsimply identify objects in a region surrounding a motor vehicle.

This object is achieved according to the invention by way of a method, adriver assistance system and a motor vehicle having the features inaccordance with the independent patent claims.

A method according to the invention serves for identifying an object ina region surrounding a motor vehicle as a stationary object. In thecourse of the method, the surrounding region is captured in images usinga vehicle-side capture device and the object is recognized in at leastone of the captured images using an image processing device. Moreover, afirst position of the object in the surrounding region relative to themotor vehicle is estimated on the basis of at least one first capturedimage, a movement sequence of the object in image coordinates isdetermined on the basis of the first image and at least one secondcaptured image, a first movement sequence that characterizes astationary object in the image coordinates is determined proceeding fromthe first estimated position in the surrounding region, and the capturedobject is identified as a stationary object on the basis of a comparisonof the movement sequence of the captured object to the firstcharacterizing movement sequence.

The method is consequently used to differentiate between whether theobjects in the surrounding region are stationary objects ornon-stationary objects. If an object is identified using the method asbeing non-stationary, it is assumed that the object is a dynamic object.In the method, the surrounding region, in particular the surroundingregion located in front of, in particular laterally in front of, themotor vehicle in the driving direction is captured in images using thevehicle-side capture device which comprises, for example, at least onecamera. The camera is in particular designed here to two-dimensionallycapture the surrounding region. The image processing device is designedto recognize a two-dimensional projection of the object in the at leastone captured image from image data of the at least one captured imageand to thus recognize the object in the surrounding region.

According to the invention, provision is now made for a first positionof the object, i.e. of the real object, in the surrounding regionrelative to the motor vehicle to be estimated on the basis of the firstcaptured image. The first image can be the image in which the object wasrecognized by the image processing device. The first position of thereal object in the surrounding region can be estimated on the basis ofthe two-dimensional projection of the object on the first image, forexample on the basis of two-dimensional geometric measurements of theobject on the image. The first position is here determined in particularin a world coordinate system and describes a first, possible distance ofthe captured object from the motor vehicle. The world coordinate systemcan be, for example, a vehicle coordinate system having a first axisalong a vehicle lateral direction, a second axis along a vehiclelongitudinal direction, and a third axis along a vehicle heightdirection. The distance of the object from the motor vehicle is thusdetermined in particular only on the basis of the captured images. Thedistance is in particular not directly measured. Consequently, thecamera can have a particularly simple design and does not need to be anexpensive time-of-flight camera, for example.

On the basis of the first image and at least a second image, a movementsequence of the object, that is to say the projection of the object, inthe image coordinates is determined. The image coordinates are heredetermined in a two-dimensional image coordinate system having a first,for example horizontal, image axis and a second, for example vertical,image axis. The movement sequence in the image coordinates is determinedhere such that, in the first image, an image position of the object, forexample the image position of a projection point of the object, in theimage coordinates is determined and, in the at least one second image,an image position of the object, for example the image position of theprojection point of the object in the second image, in the imagecoordinates is determined. The change in the image positions of theobject between the two images here gives the movement sequence of theobject. The image position change of the object, that is to say themovement of the projection of the object in the recorded images, isobtained by way of the motor vehicle travelling on a road. Due to themotor vehicle travelling, the image positions of the object in the imagechange and thus the image coordinates of the object between the at leasttwo images change. The movement sequence of the captured object in theimage coordinates here corresponds to an instantaneous movementsequence, or an actual movement sequence, of the projection of theobject in image coordinates. The time period between two successivelyrecorded images can be, for example, between 50 ms and 80 ms, inparticular 60 ms. As a result, an image position of the object can bedetermined every 60 ms, for example.

In addition, the first movement sequence that characterizes a stationaryobject in the image coordinates is now determined. The firstcharacterizing movement sequence here corresponds to a firstpredetermined movement sequence that the projection of the object has ifthe object is a stationary object at the first estimated position. Todetermine the first characterizing movement sequence, for example imagepositions of a specified stationary reference object at the firstestimated position can be determined for the at least two images. Themovement sequence of the captured object and the first characterizingmovement sequence can be determined as respectively one trajectory andbe represented, for example, in one of the captured images.

To identify the object as a stationary object, the instantaneousmovement sequence and the first predetermined movement sequence can thenbe compared. To this end, for example a distance between thetrajectories can be determined in the image. If, for example, theinstantaneous movement sequence is congruent with the firstpredetermined movement sequence, or if the instantaneous movementsequence deviates from the first predetermined movement sequence by atmost a specified threshold value, the captured object can be identifiedas a stationary object. However, if the instantaneous movement sequencedeviates from the first predetermined movement sequence by more than thespecified threshold value, the captured object is identified as adynamic object.

The method according to the invention can be used therefore to classifyor identify in a particularly simple manner the object in thesurrounding region from captured images of the surrounding region.

In addition, a second position of the object in the surrounding regionrelative to the motor vehicle is estimated preferably on the basis ofthe at least one first captured image, and, proceeding from the secondestimated position in the surrounding region, a second movement sequencethat characterizes a stationary object in the image coordinates isdetermined, and the captured object is identified on the basis of thecomparison of the movement sequence of the captured object to the secondcharacterizing movement sequence. In other words, in addition to thefirst, possible distance of the object from the motor vehicle, a second,possible distance of the object from the motor vehicle is estimated. Thesecond distance is also determined in the world coordinate system.

The invention is here based on the finding that it is not possible toaccurately determine the distance of the object on the basis of theimage that is two-dimensionally captured by the capture device, but canvary in particular along a camera axis. Therefore, two possible,plausible distances of the object from the motor vehicle are estimated.Thereupon, it is possible, in addition to the first characterizingmovement sequence in image coordinates, which is determined for thereference object at the first position in world coordinates, for thesecond characterizing movement sequence in image coordinates to bedetermined for the reference object at the second position in worldcoordinates. The second characterizing movement sequence herecorresponds to a second predetermined movement sequence which the objecthas if the object is a stationary object at the second estimatedposition. The second characterizing movement sequence can likewise bedetermined as a trajectory and be represented in the captured image. Inaddition, the instantaneous movement sequence is compared to the secondpredetermined movement sequence. The captured object can then beidentified as being stationary if the instantaneous movement sequence iscongruent with the second predetermined movement sequence or deviatesfrom the second predetermined movement sequence at most by a furtherspecified threshold value. By determining the second predeterminedmovement sequence and due to the comparison of the instantaneousmovement sequence to the two predetermined movement sequences, thecaptured object can be particularly reliably classified and identifiedas a stationary object.

With particular preference, the captured object is identified as astationary object if the movement sequence of the captured object iswithin a corridor formed by the first and the second characterizingmovement sequences. In other words, the first and the second movementsequence in the image coordinates form the corridor, that is to say amovement region within which the captured object moves, if it is astationary object. Provision can also be made here for the corridor tobe extended by a tolerance region, with the result that the capturedobject is identified as a stationary object even if the movementsequence of the captured object is outside the corridor, but within thetolerance region. By representing all movement sequences as trajectoriesin one of the images, it is possible in a particularly simple manner todetermine whether the trajectory of the captured object falls within thecorridor.

It has proven advantageous if a first height that is characteristic ofthe stationary object is specified for the captured object and the firstposition in the surrounding region relative to the motor vehicle isdetermined on the basis of the at least one first image and on the basisof the first height specified for the object, and a second height thatis characteristic of the stationary object is specified for the capturedobject and the second position in the surrounding region relative to themotor vehicle is determined on the basis of the at least one secondimage and on the basis of the second height specified for the object. Inorder then to plausibly estimate the positions of the object in worldcoordinates on the basis of the two-dimensional images, two different,plausible heights for the object are specified. The first height herecorresponds to a maximum height that the predetermined stationaryreference object can have, for example, and the second heightcorresponds to a minimum height that the predetermined stationaryreference object can have. The minimum and the maximum heights can bestored, for example, for the image processing device, with the resultthat the positions of the object in world coordinates can be determinedsimply and quickly on the basis of the at least one captured first imageusing the stored heights. Consequently, the distances of the object fromthe motor vehicle can be plausibly and quickly determined, in particularwithout the need to directly measure the distance. It is thus possibleto dispense with a separate sensor device for distance measurementand/or the configuration of the cameras as a time-of-flight camera.

Provision may be made for a vehicle speed and/or an angular rate of themotor vehicle about a vehicle height axis to be captured to determine acharacterizing movement sequence. On the basis of the vehicle speedand/or the angular rate, it is thus possible to determine the positionof the object, proceeding from the first estimated position and thesecond estimated position for each time point at which an image iscaptured, in the case of a stationary object in the world coordinatesystem, that is to say for example the position of the reference objectin the surrounding region relative to the motor vehicle, and to convertit into the image positions in the corresponding image coordinates ofthe image captured at that time point. Consequently, it is possible todetermine for each image the image position of the reference object andthus a predetermined image position which the captured object in theimage has if the captured object is stationary. The change in thepredetermined image positions between two images gives the predeterminedmovement sequence, that is to say the movement sequence thatcharacterizes a stationary object.

In addition, the characterizing movement sequences are determined underthe assumption that the motor vehicle travels on an even road. An evenroad is here a road that has neither bumps nor potholes. That means thatit is assumed that the motor vehicle performs no pitch movement, i.e. norotational movement about the vehicle transverse axis, duringtravelling. In other words, a pitch angle of the motor vehicle does notchange during travel. As a result, the characterizing movement sequencescan be determined without the need to go to the effort of capturing thepitch angle of the motor vehicle.

In accordance with an embodiment, only image coordinates of apredetermined direction are compared during the comparison of themovement sequence of the captured object to the characterizing movementsequence. Preferably, only image coordinates in the horizontal directionare compared to one another. The invention is here based on the findingthat, even if the captured object is a stationary object, the verticalimage coordinates of the captured object would differ significantly fromthe vertical image coordinates of the characterizing movement sequencesif the motor vehicle travels on an uneven road having bumps. Due to theuneven road, the motor vehicle performs a pitch movement during travel,as a result of which the captured object appears to move in the verticaldirection in the image. This apparent vertical movement of the capturedobject in the image coordinates can result in the movement sequence ofthe captured object, determined on the basis of the image positions ofthe projection of the object, being outside the corridor formed by thetwo characterizing movement sequences. The characterizing movementsequences are specifically determined in particular under the assumptionthat the motor vehicle moves along an even road having no bumps. Thismeans that the apparent vertical movement of the stationary object isnot reflected in the characterizing movement sequences. For this reason,during the examination as to whether the movement sequence of thecaptured object is within the corridor, only the image coordinates inthe horizontal direction are taken into consideration. The imagecoordinates in the vertical direction are not taken into consideration.As a result, an object can be reliably identified as a stationary objectin particular without the need to separately capture the pitch angleeven in the case of a road on which the motor vehicle performs a pitchmovement, for example due to potholes.

In a development of the invention, the position of the captured objectis estimated on the basis of a first image captured at a current timepoint, and the movement sequence of the captured object is determined onthe basis of at least one second image captured at a time point beforethe current time point. That means that the current position of theobject in the world coordinates is estimated and, proceeding from thecurrent position, the already performed movement of the captured objectis determined. In other words, the movement sequence of the capturedobject is determined retrospectively, i.e. on the basis of the recordedhistory of image coordinates. The characterizing movement sequence isalso hereby retrospectively determined, i.e. a movement that thecaptured object would have performed if it were a stationary object. Asa result, the object can be classified particularly quickly as astationary object or as a dynamic object.

The object as a stationary, light-reflecting object, in particular adelineator post or a road sign, is preferably identified as thepredetermined object. A light-reflecting object is here understood tomean an object that has an active element reflecting light. Such anelement can be, for example, a reflector which reflects the light, suchas for example like a cat's-eye. Such objects can be, for example,delineator posts or reflector posts, which are generally located at aside of the road of the motor vehicle and facilitate orientation for thedriver of the motor vehicle in particular in the dark or at night orwhen visibility is poor. Such objects can also be road signs thatactively reflect light for improved visibility. Due to the objects thatactively reflect light, light that was emitted for example by aheadlight of the motor vehicle to illuminate the road is reflected in adirectional or defined manner by the object back to the motor vehicleand can therefore be erroneously detected by the image processingdevice, in particular at night, as an oncoming vehicle emitting light.Using the method in accordance with the invention, which can identifyobjects as being stationary or dynamic, it is advantageously possible toprevent such a mix-up from happening.

Here, the object can be identified as a stationary light-reflectingobject, in particular as a delineator post and/or as a road sign, if ithas been detected, on the basis of the at least one captured first imageand/or second image, that the captured object emits light in adirectional or defined manner in the direction of the motor vehicle andit has been detected, on the basis of the comparison of the movementsequence of the captured light-emitting object to a movement sequencecharacteristic of a stationary object, that the captured object isstationary. In other words, it is determined, for example on the basisof the first detected image, whether the object emits light in adirectional manner in the direction of the motor vehicle. It is alsopossible to estimate the position of the object on the basis of thisimage. Subsequently, the movement sequence of the capturedlight-emitting object can be determined and the object can be identifiedas being stationary on the basis of the comparison to the characterizingmovement sequence.

Preferably, regulation of a light emitted by a headlight of the motorvehicle for illuminating a road of the motor vehicle is blocked if theobject was identified as a stationary object which actively reflectslight. In other words, no automatic full-beam regulation, for exampledipping of the light, is performed if it has been found that thecaptured object is not an oncoming vehicle but for example a delineatorpost or a road sign. It is thus possible to prevent the automaticfull-beam regulation from being performed unnecessarily.

The invention additionally relates to a driver assistance system, inparticular for full-beam regulation, for identifying an object in aregion surrounding a motor vehicle as a stationary object. The driverassistance system comprises a vehicle-side capture device, for example acamera, for capturing the surrounding region in images and an imageprocessing device for recognizing the object in at least one of thecaptured images. Moreover, the image processing device is configured toestimate a first position of the object in the surrounding regionrelative to the motor vehicle on the basis of at least one firstcaptured image, to determine a movement sequence of the object in imagecoordinates on the basis of the first image and at least one secondcaptured image, to determine a first movement sequence thatcharacterizes a stationary object in the image coordinates proceedingfrom the first estimated position in the surrounding region, and toidentify the captured object as a stationary object on the basis of acomparison of the movement sequence of the captured object to the firstcharacterizing movement sequence.

A motor vehicle according to the invention comprises a driver assistancesystem according to the invention. The motor vehicle is configured inparticular as a passenger vehicle. The driver assistance system can herecontrol, for example, headlights of the motor vehicle to regulate thelight emitted by the headlights.

The preferred embodiments introduced with respect to the methodaccording to the invention, and the advantages thereof, applyaccordingly to the driver assistance system according to the inventionand to the motor vehicle according to the invention.

The terms “top”, “bottom”, “front”, “rear”, “horizontal” (a-direction),“vertical” (b-direction) etc. indicate positions and orientations basedon appropriate observation of the captured images. The terms “internal”,“external”, “lateral”, “right”, “left”, “top”, “bottom”, “vehicle heightaxis” (z-direction), “vehicle longitudinal axis” (y-direction), “vehicletransverse axis” (x-direction) etc. indicate positions and orientationsbased on an observer standing in front of the vehicle and looking in thedirection of the vehicle longitudinal axis.

Further features of the invention can be gathered from the claims, thefigures and the description of the figures. The features and featurecombinations mentioned previously in the description and the featuresand feature combinations yet to be mentioned in the description of thefigures and/or shown alone in the figures can be used not only in thecombinations which are indicated in each case, but also in othercombinations or alone, without departing from the scope of theinvention. Configurations of the invention that are not explicitly shownand explained in the figures but can be gathered and realized throughseparate feature combinations from the explained configurations are alsothus to be considered as being included and disclosed. Configurationsand feature combinations that do not have all the features of anindependent claim of original wording are consequently also to beconsidered to be disclosed.

The invention will be explained in more detail below on the basis of apreferred exemplary embodiment and with reference to the attacheddrawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of an embodiment of a motorvehicle according to the invention;

FIGS. 2a, 2b, 2c show schematic illustrations of image which wererecorded by a vehicle-side capture device; and

FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration of an embodiment or determiningthe position of a captured object.

Identical elements and elements having identical functions are providedin the figures with the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 shows a motor vehicle 1 having a driver assistance system 2. Thedriver assistance system 2 comprises a vehicle-side capture device 3,which can comprise at least one camera. The capture device 3 serves forcapturing a surrounding region 4 of the motor vehicle 1 intwo-dimensional images 12, 14 (see FIGS. 2a, 2b, 2c ). The capturedevice captures in particular images 12, 14 of a surrounding region 4located—in the direction of travel (y-direction)—in front of andlaterally in front of the motor vehicle 1 as the motor vehicle 1 travelson a road 9.

The driver assistance system 2 additionally comprises an imageprocessing device 5, which is configured to process the images 12, 14 ofthe surrounding region 4 captured by the capture device 3 and to extractfor example information from the captured images 12, 14. The driverassistance system 2, which serves in particular for full-beamregulation, can control, based on the information extracted from theimages 12, 14, headlights 11 of the motor vehicle 1 in order to regulateor influence the light emitted by the headlights 11. In addition, thedriver assistance system 2 can have a speed sensor 6 for capturing aspeed of the motor vehicle 1 travelling on the road 9 and an angularrate sensor 7 for capturing an angular rate of the motor vehicle 1 abouta vehicle height axis (z-direction) of the motor vehicle 1.

The image processing device 5 is configured for recognizing an object 8in at least one of the images 12, 14 captured by the capture device 3.The object 8 has, in the surrounding region 4, a position P(x, y, z)relative to the motor vehicle 1. The position P is here a position in aworld coordinate system x, y, z, which is here defined as a vehiclecoordinate system. The x-axis of the world coordinate system here runsalong a vehicle lateral direction, the y-axis runs along a vehiclelongitudinal direction, and the z-axis runs along a vehicle heightdirection.

The image processing device 5 is configured to classify the object 8,that is to say to identify whether the object 8 is a stationary objectthat is positionally fixed in the surrounding region 4, or a dynamicobject. If the captured object 8 is a dynamic object, for example in theform of an oncoming vehicle, a control device 10 of the driverassistance system 2 can, for example, control the headlights 11 of themotor vehicle 1 to dip the light emitted by the headlights 11 and thusprevent dazzling a driver of the oncoming vehicle. Regulating the lightemitted by the headlights 11 in this way should, however, be blocked ifthe image processing device 5 has detected that the object 8 is astationary object, for example in the form of a delineator post 13 or aroad sign.

Identifying the object 8 as a stationary object, in particular as adelineator post 13, will be explained with reference to FIG. 2a , FIG.2b , and FIG. 2c . FIG. 2a shows an image 12 of the surrounding region 4recorded at a first time point by the capture device 3. The first image12 shows the surrounding region 4′ as a two-dimensional projection ofthe surrounding region 4, the road 9′ as a two-dimensional projection ofthe road 9, and the object 8′ as a two-dimensional projection of theobject 8 at the first, in particular current, time point. An imageposition P′ of the object 8′ is indicated using image coordinates a, bof a two-dimensional image coordinate system. The object 8′ has in theimage 12 a first image position P′(a1, b1). Based on the two-dimensionalfirst image 12, a first position P1(x1, y1, z1) of the real object 8(see FIG. 3) relative to the motor vehicle 1, that is to say a first,possible distance of the object 8 from the motor vehicle 1, and a secondposition P2(x2, y2, z2) of the real object 8 relative to the motorvehicle 1, that is to say a second, possible distance of the object 8from the motor vehicle 1, are estimated. The positions P1, P2 are heredetermined in the world coordinate system (x, y, z).

To determine the first position P1, a first, maximum height h1 for theobject 8 is specified or assumed, as shown in FIG. 3. To determine thesecond position P2, a second, minimum height h2 for the object 8 isassumed. The possible positions P1, P2 of the real object 8 can then bedetermined on the basis of the image 12 and the heights h1, h2. Theactual position P(x, y, z) of the object 8 is here located along acamera axis 20 between the two positions P1, P2. The heights h1, h2 canhere be, for example, a typical specified maximum height and a typicalspecified minimum height of a delineator post 13.

To identify the captured object 8 as a stationary object, first amovement sequence 15 (see FIG. 2c ) of the object 8′, 8″, that is to saya movement sequence 15 of the projection of the captured object 8, inthe image coordinates a, b is determined. To this end, for example animage position P′ of the object 8′ in the first image 12 and an imageposition P″(a2, b2) of the object 8″ in a second image 14, recorded at asecond time point, can be determined. The second image 14 shows thesurrounding region 4″ as a two-dimensional projection of the surroundingregion 4, the road 9″ as a two-dimensional projection of the road 9, andthe object 8″ as a two-dimensional projection of the object 8 at thesecond time point. The second time point here occurs in particularbefore the first, current time point. The change in the image positionsP′, P″ can be determined as a trajectory characterizing the movementsequence 15 and be represented, for example, in the first image 12 (seeFIG. 2c ).

In addition, proceeding from the first estimated position P1 and thesecond estimated position P2, movement sequences 16, 17, which arecharacteristic of a stationary object, in image coordinates a, b aredetermined. The first characterizing movement sequence 16 is herecharacteristic of a stationary object at the first, estimated positionP1, and the second characteristic movement sequence 17 is characteristicof a stationary object at the second, estimated position P2. Thecharacterizing movement sequences 16, 17 are determined for example bydetermining the image positions of a stationary reference object in theimages 12, 14 in image coordinates a, b. To this end, for the imagepositions of the stationary reference object in the first image 12, thefirst position P1 and the second position P2 are converted into imagecoordinates a, b. To determine the image positions of the stationaryreference object in the second image 14, a further, first position ofthe stationary reference object in world coordinates x, y, z and afurther, second position of the stationary reference object in worldcoordinates x, y, z, which the reference object has at the second timepoint, are converted into image coordinates a, b. The further, first andthe further, second positions can be determined, for example, on thebasis of the speed and/or the angular rate of the motor vehicle 1, whichis captured using the speed sensor 6 and/or using the angular ratesensor 7. In addition, the characterizing movement sequences 16, 17 aredetermined under the assumption that the road 9, on which the motorvehicle 1 travels, is even and has no potholes or bumps, for example.The movement sequences 16, 17, which can likewise be represented astrajectories in the first image 12 (see FIG. 2c ), form a corridor 18.The captured object 8 is then identified as a stationary object if themovement sequence 15 of the captured object 8′, 8″ falls within thecorridor 18.

FIG. 2c shows that the horizontal coordinates a of the movement sequence15 are located within the corridor 18, but not the vertical coordinatesb of the movement sequence 15. The movement sequence 15 shows themovement sequence of the object 8′, 8″ for the motor vehicle 1 here asit travels on a road 9, which has bumps. Due to these bumps, the motorvehicle 1 performs a pitch movement about the vehicle transverse axis,that is to say a pitch movement along the z-axis. Due to said pitchmovement, the object 8′, 8″ appears to move in the height direction(b-direction) in the image coordinates a, b. In order to be able toidentify the captured object 8 as a stationary object despite the pitchmovement and without having to capture the pitch movement, only thehorizontal image coordinates a are considered or taken intoconsideration during the examination as to whether the movement sequence15 falls within the corridor 18. The vertical image coordinates b arenot taken into consideration.

On the basis of the comparison of the movement sequence 15 to thecharacterizing movement sequences 16, 17, the captured object 8 can beidentified as a stationary object. In order to identify the object 8 asthe delineator post 13, it is additionally possible to examine whetherthe object 8 actively reflects light in the direction of the motorvehicle 1. In order to actively reflect light, the delineator post 13has reflectors 19. The image processing device 5 can, for example on thebasis of the first image 12, detect that the object 8′, 8″ emits lightin the direction of the motor vehicle 1. Finally, the image processingdevice 5 can capture the object 8 as a stationary object on the basis ofthe movement sequences 15, 16, 17 and thus identify the object 8correctly as the delineator post 13. Once the object 8 has beenidentified as a delineator post 13, it is possible for the controldevice 10 to prevent the headlights 11 from unnecessarily beingcontrolled to regulate the full beam.

1. A method for identifying an object in a surrounding region of a motorvehicle as a stationary object, the method comprising: capturing thesurrounding region in images using a vehicle-side capture device;detecting the object in at least one of the captured images using animage processing device; estimating a first position of the object inthe surrounding region relative to the motor vehicle on the basis of atleast one first captured image; determining a movement sequence of theobject in image coordinates on the basis of the first image and at leastone second captured image; determining a first movement sequence thatcharacterizes a first, stationary object in the image coordinatesproceeding from the first estimated position in the surrounding region;and identifying the captured object as a stationary object on the basisof a comparison of the movement sequence of the captured object to thefirst characterizing movement sequence.
 2. The method according to claim1, further comprising: estimating a second position of the object in thesurrounding region relative to the motor vehicle additionally on thebasis of the at least one first image; proceeding from the secondestimated position in the surrounding region, determining a secondmovement sequence that characterizes a stationary object in the imagecoordinates; and identifying the captured object on the basis of thecomparison of the movement sequence of the captured object to the secondcharacterizing movement sequence.
 3. The method according to claim 2,wherein the captured object is identified as a stationary object whenthe movement sequence of the captured object is within a corridor formedby the first and the second characterizing movement sequences.
 4. Themethod according to claim 2, wherein: a first height that ischaracteristic of the stationary object is specified for the capturedobject and the first position in the surrounding region is determined onthe basis of the at least one first image and on the basis of the firstheight specified for the object, and a second height that ischaracteristic of the stationary object is specified for the capturedobject, and the second position in the surrounding region is determinedon the basis of the at least one first image and on the basis of thesecond height specified for the object.
 5. The method according to claim1, characterized in that a vehicle speed and/or an angular rate of themotor vehicle (1) about a vehicle height axis is captured to determine acharacterizing movement sequence (16, 17).
 6. The method according toclaim 1, wherein a characterizing movement sequence is determined underthe assumption that the motor vehicle travels on an even road.
 7. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein only image coordinates of apredetermined direction are compared when comparing the movementsequence of the captured object to the characterizing movement sequence.8. The method according to claim 7, only horizontal image coordinates ofthe predetermined direction are compared as the image coordinates whencomparing the movement sequence of the captured object to acharacterizing movement sequence.
 9. The method according to claim 1,wherein the position of the captured object is estimated on the basis ofa first image captured at a current time point and the movement sequenceof the captured object is determined on the basis of at least one secondimage captured at a time point that occurred before the current timepoint.
 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the object as astationary, light-reflecting object, comprising a delineator post or aroad sign, is identified as the stationary object.
 11. The methodaccording to claim 10, wherein the captured object is identified as astationary, light-reflecting object, when detection occurs, on the basisof the at least one captured first image, that the captured object emitslight in a directional manner in the direction of the motor vehicle, andwhen detection occurs, on the basis of the comparison of the movementsequence of the captured light-emitting object to a movement sequencethat characterizes a stationary object, that the captured object isstationary.
 12. The method according to claim 10, wherein regulation ofa light emitted by a headlight of the motor vehicle for illuminating aroad of the motor vehicle is blocked when the object has been identifiedas the stationary, light-reflecting object.
 13. A driver assistancesystem for full-beam regulation, for identifying an object in asurrounding region of a motor vehicle as a stationary object, the driverassistance system comprising: a vehicle-side capture device forcapturing the surrounding region in images; and an image processingdevice for recognizing the object in at least one of the capturedimages, wherein the image processing device is configured to: estimate afirst position of the object in the surrounding region relative to themotor vehicle on the basis of at least one first image, determine amovement sequence of the object in image coordinates on the basis of thefirst image and at least one second captured image, determine a firstmovement sequence that characterizes a stationary object in the imagecoordinates proceeding from the first estimated position in thesurrounding region, and identify the captured object as a stationaryobject on the basis of a comparison of the movement sequence of thecaptured object to the first characterizing movement sequence.
 14. Amotor vehicle having a driver assistance system according to claim 13.